Your Words Warmed Me
by North of the North
Summary: Every nation has a weakness that none of the other nations know about. Canada's turns out to be a bit more dangerous to his health than most.
1. Chapter 1

This story is told from Japan's perspective as he writes down the minutes for the meeting, and later on in Canada's pov.

* * *

Every nation has a weakness, a little flaw to them that if they were human would have been their genetic defect. The Ancients figured that it was whoever had created them's way of saying they were just like their human citizens, and that they weren't perfect.

It went without saying that even in "families" the secret of what exactly each person's weakness was wasn't brought up. Even if it was an empire that had many colonies, no one ever asked what the weaknesses were. Everyone was told that they shouldn't let anyone else ever know about their weakness either, or else it would kill them. All the young colonies believed this, when they were young they always believed everything their colonizer said though. It was just one of the things they didn't question as they got older.

In some cases this was almost fatal in the end, Canada was one such case, and the only one that any of the other nations could remember.

But, that's getting ahead in the story. As this is the official record book for the world meetings I should begin from the beginning of the story, and not give a hint of the end. I should probably scratch out the start of this entry before Germany checks it for mistakes later, he can be very perfectionist. Shoot, I'm treating this like my journal at home.

Japan leaned back from the table frowning at the page in front of him.

"I guess I should take this home with me to recycle properly and start off on a fresh piece of paper. Why the janitors don't put a recycling bin in the meeting rooms remains a mystery to me."

* * *

Mathew, otherwise known as the country of Canada, had found that he was always cold lately, and nothing he did ever changed that. Even then lying under his covers and reading a book to wake up while wearing several layers of clothes did nothing to change the fact that he was still shivering.

He truly didn't want to get up; but the clock read 7:28, and the meeting started at 9:00. He groaned a bit, and mumbled about how much he didn't want to; but he still got up, and it wasn't like there was anyone there that was listening and would care.

He knew that going to this meeting would just make him feel colder.

He'd known early on that his weakness was that his body temperature is regulated by the gestures and words of those people around him. Nice words or a hug equaled a nice warm body temperature, and having glares directed towards him and an angry tone or argument left him shivering like winter had arrived early and suddenly to all of his provinces and territories.

He did his best to be agreeable and not anger anyone; but there's only so much you can do when you have the States for a brother/doppelganger.

Looking in the mirror he could see that his lips were starting to turn blue, and his shivering had increased just from the good morning "who?" he'd gotten from his pet polar bear. The best he could hope for today was to make it through to the next without hypothermia.

The meeting had started as he suspected, everyone ignored him. When it first started he'd thought they were joking around, then he realized after the first century of this treatment had passed that this was no joke. They honestly couldn't even see him. It's like only seeing what you want to see. They only ever saw him when they wanted to see his brother, they never wanted to see him, and that made him feel colder on the insides in a totally different way.

He'd tried once to voice his opinion; but England had glared at him and told him to shut up, and that no one wanted to listen to his stupid ideas...America.

He'd felt his internal temperature drop even more.

That's when the meeting had started to get weird, with the room tilting around him in a weird way, was it supposed to do that?, he couldn't tell for sure; but, he could have sworn he saw Russia looking at him, finally, quizzically.

"His skin is waxy, and his pupils are dilated. He is shivering. England, I suggest you stop him from trying to remove his sweater. He has hypothermia." Russia said in his pleasant tone of voice, the one he used to appear childish. Mathew knew what it really meant, Russia didn't know what to do. He knew Russia just felt nervous. He didn't know why though.

Mathew tried to speak, but even in his unaware state could tell that something was wrong with his words.

"His speech is slurred." Russia noted.

He didn't quite understand what was going on, all he could concentrate on was the cold. He didn't think it had ever gotten to be this bad before. Then he felt a burst of warmth, and sighed, it was bliss.

Russia sounded panicked now. "England, put my coat over him now!"

Mathew could still hear them, a bit, but his vision had gone black. He couldn't see, and the sounds of the other nations was being replaced with a ringing tone. Until suddenly it wasn't. There was no ringing tone, or the other nations, or the pins and needles he'd felt all over his body. There was nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Big big huge thanks to Krasavitsa, she helped me major lots with this. Love her. Such a sweet person. Thank you, sweet pea!

* * *

"Someone needs to take off their clothes."

"What?" England exclaimed, turning towards Russia. The other G8 members mirrored his sentiment with the identical looks on their faces.

He sighed, then tried to explain it in the simplest of ways that he could. "It is what you do when a person gets hypothermia. You need to warm them up as much as you can. We are taught to get naked and make the person with hypothermia naked and crawl into a sleeping bag with them." *

"That's preposterous."

"It's what is taught."

"None of us are getting naked, or taking off Canada's clothes."

"Then you deal with his hypothermia."

"Wait a minute, Commie." America interrupted. "We don't even know if he has hypothermia. Don't you only get that when it's like really cold outside? It's not even cool in here. Maybe he has heat stroke or something."

"I doubt it. But if you wish, you can always drive him to the hospital and see that I am right when they get around to examining him there. If he loses the use of any fingers or toes on the way then you will know that it is your fault and I will be happy with that."

"No way, dude. It would be your fault."

"Do you even listen to what you say?" Russia asked, then he sighed and stood up from his couched position by Mathew's body. As he stood up, he grabbed onto Canada's arms, lifting him up and settling him into his own arms-bridal style. "You go to the hospital closest to here and describe his condition. I will put him into a luke-warm bath while the ambulance is being called. England, I believe I asked you to call them."

England looked startled at his name suddenly being uttered in this exchange.

Perhaps he'd ben zoning out? How careless.

"Right," England said as he took out his cellphone and started dialing 911. "I forgot about that."

America turned to England, and lifted a hand to point at Russia accusingly. "Don't tell me that you're going to do what that commie says!"

"Don't point," England snapped. "It's rude. And I don't believe I have to tell you anything. It's not like I have to report back to you about anything. I can choose to do as I wish. And I choose to follow Russia's instructions as he knows more about this than I do."

"And I am no longer communist, America." Russia couldn't help but add in.

America snapped his gaze over to glare at Russia, but his glare dimmed somewhat with Russia's next words.

"Right now, it is best that you listen to me. Canada and I are both winter type nations. I know what needs to be done in the cold, or at least in the type of cold that we get, and I know what happens in that cold. Canada has hypothermia. Stop arguing with me about this."

Russia had to bite back the following remarks he wished to say about how if America didn't he could just kidnap Canada or something to treat him and perhaps shoot America point blank with his handgun; but, that would just be pointless and would give less weight to his words. It would be better just to let his actions talk for him.

America hesitated, then nodded. "Fine, you can take Canada to have a bath. But only a bath, you hear?"

Russia smiled. "Of course, comrade." He said before he carried Canada out of the room and down to the lower floors of the building they were in where the hotel rooms would be.

It was when he was going down the stairs, of course, and away from the conference room that he realized that to give the country in his arms a bath he would need to take his clothes off and that he should have just kept the American with him so that he wouldn't have to. Why did he always think of these rather important things when it was already too late?

* * *

The boy had woken up in his arms as he was fumbling for his key card to get into his hotel room. At least he didn't have to worry about him not waking up anymore. That was one worry scratched off his list. Now it was best to ignore Canada's attempts to get away and open up the door now that the blasted key card had finally decided to work. The infernal device.

Canada was roughly dropped onto the bed and restrained when he went to get back up again. He counted out each of Canada's breaths and felt his forehead. Still chilly and a bit wet with sweat. That would need to be fixed.

Then he reached for Canada's hands.

* * *

When Ivan goes to check Mathew's wrist for a pulse, Mathew jerks his hand away. And when Ivan then went to reach for Mathew's other hand, Mathew had jerked that one back, too, to join his other hand at his chest where he curls them together, and himself around them, in a pitiful attempt to keep them hidden from view.

"Ah, I see how it is. You don't want to touch my hands. Why?" Ivan asked.

"I don't have to answer."

"That's fine, but I'd like you to."

"You'll laugh."

"Do I really seem like a laughing type of person?" Ivan asked. He had certainly never thought of himself as such, but if that was the impression he was giving off...well, then he had some work to do in changing that.

"Well, no." Mathew admitted.

"So? Your answer?"

"It's stupid."

"You're beginning to anger me with your hiding, Canada. I suggest you do not do so further."

"I-well...my hands are always cold. Everyone always jerks away from me when I touch them. I don't have my gloves on right now, and I'd prefer it if you didn't touch me right now. I don't want to inconvenience yet another person with my temperature."

"...Is that all? Then I won't mind. Mine are always cold too."

"Oh really?" Mathew says it sarcastically. And Ivan doesn't mind, for once. He just takes Mathew's hands and wraps his around them.

Both of their hands were like ice.

Mathew's eyes widened, his pupils dilated, and Ivan worried he was about to faint again, before Mathew smiled and it seemed as soft as the first snowfall of the year, just waiting to be leapt into and develop happy memories for.

"See?" Ivan said. "So, I won't mind your cold hands." And Ivan smiled for the first time during their conversation.

The smile was one of merely eleven that Mathew had witnessed him wear during all of the meetings they had…enjoyed as diplomats for their respective countries in the past one hundred and plus years, that reached his eyes and actually made him look happy.

"We can be cold together." Ivan continued, and Mathew felt a sudden bloom of warmth hotter than any fire he'd lit before. This was a fire centred in his chest, and it left him breathless.

* * *

*True story, bra. Throughout my years as a Cub and a Scout in Scouts Canada we were told to do this. I think they wised up a bit though when they realized that Scouts is co-ed in Canada, and has been for many decades. In the past few years they have been trying to pass off their earlier advice with comments like, "A while ago, it was advised that you go into a sleeping bag naked with someone that is hypothermic...but we don't do that anymore. We do (this) instead now." Good times. All of them.

Ivan's pretty old-school, so I thought he would have still thought of that first instead of the procedure used now which doesn't involve getting naked. It says that you're to carry an extra pair of clothes around and change the person with hypothermia into that, without looking at their body-of course, and then put them into a sleeping bag and wrap a tarp around the sleeping bag. Which is a lot more complicated and takes a lot more tools to get done. Makes you wish for the good old days when you still got naked and crawled into a sleeping bag with the hypothermic person, eh?

And yes, I know that Russia's no longer part of the G8, or G7 as it's now called, but shhhh he still is in this world.


End file.
